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Neglected Tropical Diseases & Dengue

Discovering, Developing and Distributing Drugs for Neglected Diseases

60° Pharmaceuticals, LLC was founded with the goal of discovering, developing and distributing drugs for rare and neglected diseases. The core business of the company will be neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Seventeen NTDs have been identified by the World Health Organization. Malaria and tuberculosis are usually included on this list, and despite mature drug development pipelines for these diseases, critical gaps remain. 60° Pharmaceuticals, LLC will focus on drug development for therapeutic modalities left unaddressed by the existing research and development networks.

Unmet Medical Need for Dengue Drugs

Initially the company is focused on the discovery and development of new drugs to treat dengue. Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. 2.5 billion are at risk and there are an estimated96 million symptomatic casesevery year. Mild dengue may progress to a hemorrhagic form and cause death. The economic burden of clinical cases based on 2006 data has been estimated to be $1.7 billion p.a.while potential drug sales assuming 100% market share are estimated to be $338 million p.a.However, these are likely to be underestimates given the recent report suggesting that the incidence of dengue may be three-fold higherthan previously assumed. The current standard of care is fever and pain relief and transfer to ICUs. Dengue vaccines are coming, but supply constraints, cost, and other factors may limit their impact. Dengue drugs would complement the use of dengue vaccines by public health systems, provide relief to dengue patients, and substantially reduce economic costs associated with the disease.